Sunshine and Starlight
by klondigirl
Summary: Fanfiction of a Fanfiction...Dreaming of Sunshine by Silver Queen Shikako Nara had once been a part of an entity so vast and powerful it would have washed everything she was away like a drop in the ocean. Then she wasn't. The entity dispersed, its power seeping away into the earth...
1. Chapter 1

The world sang softly.

It remembers being part of a roaring cacophonous symphony of sound.

Now though, small solitary notes hover away, distant and soft.

My name wasn't always Shikako Nara...No it never was.

Or was it?

It was Light and Life and Love. Concept without form, and It had lost itself.

But once, for a moment and an eternity It had form, a name, a soul.

Then It did not.

But I was someone else before that.

It was? No.

The concept of identity flickered just out of reach.

For a moment, it had once had a vessel for Its Light. It had a Life of Its own. But Love had torn it away.

It remembered.

I think therefore I am.

What am I?

Light and Life and Love.

Not alive.

There is no death, only a change of worlds.

Light will always cast a shadow. Love never fails

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

It thrummed, a handful of disparate notes coming together to form a chord.

It had loved with all of its being the thousands of little sparks that had flickered away, leaving it alone.

It had loved the people from Before. Mourned them with wailing discordant noise. But It found new loves, all around it. It knew them, their faces, their lives, their flaws. Loved them deeper for it.

Loved enough to face pain and despair, again and again. Loved enough to burn the world for a precious few.

Loved enough to Live.

It reached out for itself, calling, singing.

It reached out for a spark, a tiny thing to hold its Light.

It sprouted from the earth. Feeling the rightness, earth was its element.

It was Life, It remembered Biology, physiology, and a slightly disconnected image in the mirror, that wasn't quite who it was, but close enough.

It laughed.

A sound that wasn't music, but resonated around her in much the same way. She lifted her feet out of the cool earth where she stood and danced in circles feeling the Sunlight soaking into her skin.

"Halt, This area is under the protective jurisdiction of Suna. You are Trespassing."

It stopped and stared at the Person. He had Spoken Words! It remembered Words! Then it remembered more Words that were not the Words of the Person who had spoken. It was captivated by the wonder of the sounds and shared concepts. Words!

The Person startled her out of her reverie, with more Words. And Actions, that her remembrances indicated were potentially Dangerous and Hostile. He held several kunai in his hands, and the soft light that shimmered inside him pulsed in a flare. She was distracted for a moment by the sudden dazzling brilliance. It was so lovely!

She could feel the others now, shining, warm, and pleasant. They began to approach, and she smiled at the beautiful nuances of their individual brightness.

The Person still stood in the stance that her memories classified as Hostile. and used Words to tell her that she Should Not Move. She could do that! She was pleased to be helpful.

Then Temari arrived. She remembered Temari. Temari was Strong and Fierce and Clever, and she Loved her little Brothers. She Loved Temari. She glowed with happiness. Other People who arrived with Temari also began to stand in a Hostile manner.

"Whats going on here?" Temari asked, watching her intently.

"I found her in a restricted area, and when I challenged she did not respond. Just stared. She has not engaged in any hostile actions.I think she might just be insane. But I didn't want to take any chances."

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Temari demanded. And her Words were for her.

Temari's stance was also Hostile. All this Hostility made her want to reach for something on her thigh, but that was silly, there was nothing there.

But she did not know how to answer Temari. She thought about Words, and Concepts of Identity, Location, and Action.

"Your not Shikako Nara." Temari accused, interrupting her deep contemplation.

"Yes." She breathed happily. Temari was Clever! "I am not Shikako Nara." This was true. She felt it resonate within her, and it answered the first question. She glowed with happiness. "I Exist." She replied proudly. "I am Not Shikako Nara, and I am Existing."

Temari stared at her thoughtfully for a moment, and something about her stance shifted. She wondered if Temari was contemplating Words too.

"Are you Gelel?" Temari asked slowly.

She Knew that Word, it was a Word that spoke of Her before she Knew Words. "I was before, but now I am not." she said haltingly. "I am Not Shikako Nara, and I am Not Gelel." Somehow that pronouncement made her feel Lonely and Incomplete again. She looked sadly at Temari.

"Temari is Temari. Temari is a Shinobi, Temari is a Big Sister, Temari is Strong, and Fierce and Clever." She looked at Temari pleadingly "Temari, how do I become things that are not Not Things?"

Temari stared at her for a quiet moment before setting the base of her fan in front of her and huffing a laugh. "I think you already are things, they just haven't been defined yet." Temari tilted her head at her. "We could start by giving you a name, I suppose. How about Reiko? it means spirit child. If you are what I think you are, it should be appropriate."

Reiko blinked as water seemed to form within her eyes. Temari had given her a name.

"I am Reiko." She said smiling through tears and glowing as brightly as she could.

"Allright Reiko, I'm gonna need to take you into protective custody, but before that how about we get you some clothes."


	2. Chapter 2

Temari found The strange garden that had replaced the dead wastes to be every bit as eerie and unnatural as what came before it. She was a child of the desert after all.

However no one could deny that it was a priceless boon to Suna's economy. Now if they could just keep all the pesky foreign ninja's from sticking their nose in, to try to solve the mystery, confirm rumors, or sabotage Suna's recent good fortune.

Gaara had received regular reports from the patrols in the area, and Temari had been paying attention. The former center of the dead wastes had collapsed on itself, and was unnaturally soon overrun with verdant plant life. When reports of strange lights and other anomalies increased. She had requested permission to personally oversee the patrols for a time.

She had a feeling.

A feeling that was confirmed, when not one week after she had taken over, there was a chakra pulse from sector G6 calling for backup. With a few sharp hand signs she and two squads of shinobi were heading to the location immediately.

She halted beside her shinobi who appeared to be staring down some kind of statue, except it wasn't.

It was, in fact, a naked girl doing an excellent impression of being a statue.

The girl who continued to stand unnaturally still, smiling innocently, looked at her and began to glow.

No Seriously.

It was glowing.

Like some kind of demented Light bulb.

It was a good thing it was daytime, or that would be dangerously conspicuous. To give herself time to mentally adjust to strange glowing statue children, she barked for a report.

"I found her in a restricted area, and when I challenged, she did not respond. Just stared. I think she might just be insane. She seems harmless so far, but I didn't want to take any chances."

Insane made for a nice comfortable explanation, but it did not go with the fact that an apparantly naked glowing, twelve year old girl had somehow made it to the very center of a heavily patrolled shinobi territory.

She studied it carefully, and noticed to her somewhat combined releif and terror that the girl distinctly resembled Shikako Nara the last couple times they had met, aside from the coloring and fashion choices.

Sure the whole thing was unnatural and strange, but if Shikako was involved, it was par for the course, really.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" She demanded as she continued to study it, or her...

She had translucently pale skin even without the glowing which was thankfully dimming a bit, and silvery blonde hair, and pale gold eyes. like someone had washed all the color out of Shikako and stuck a light bulb inside.

And Shikako wore clothes. And Shikako didn't look at her with adoring innocence, followed by such bewildered confusion. She doubted Shikako had ever looked that _YOUNG_.

And Shikako wore clothes.

"Your not Shikako Nara." She accused, and instead of any normal, sane, reaction, the girl brightened (LITERALLY) and replied with relieved happiness. Like she hadn't known what she was before, which was fair, Temari had no idea what she was either... but she had some vague suspicions.

Then the girl proclaimed proudly that she existed, like it was an accomplishment. And the sinking feeling in her gut told her it probably was. Then she put the two concepts together and answered her question. She was Not Shikako and she was Existing.

Great.

She loved it when problems conjured themselves into existence just for her.

She wanted to sigh, but instead she relaxed slightly from her tense combat ready stance. She had the distinct feeling that this was not a problem she should fix by smashing.

Aside from a slight twitch of her fingers to a nonexistent kunai holster, when she was surrounded by ten hostile ninja, nothing in the girls stance or movement showed the ability or intention to attack.

Putting the circumstances together with her instincts, she finally asked, already having some idea of the answer. "Are you Gelel?"

After a beat of thoughtful silence it replied slowly."I was before, but now I am not."

"I am not Shikako Nara, and I am not Gelel."

Well shit.

The girl then looked almost indescribably sad

"Temari is Temari. Temari is a Shinobi, Temari is a Big Sister, Temari is Strong, and Fierce and Clever." She looked at Temari pleadingly "Temari, how do I become things that are not, Not Things?"

Temari set her fan down and let out a small huff of laughter. Man, that was a lot of blatant flattery and capital letters. She could just hear the capital letters.

Its not everyday strange baby spirit creatures come and start asking you existential questions...


End file.
